The field of the invention pertains to the game of bowling, and in particular, to optional means to deflect a bowling ball from entering the gutter adjacent the lane. Such devices have been used to make the game more enjoyable and less frustrating for beginners to the sport, smaller children and those suffering from physical handicap.
One of the earlier attempts to provide a practical deflection means in an alley is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,401,933 wherein the entire gutter is mounted on a mechanical assembly beneath the gutter. The gutter is hinged at the far side of the gutter from the alley and caused to rotate upwardly into a position whereby the underside of the gutter is exposed. Attached to the gutter underside is a bumper extending the longitudinal length of the gutter at the appropriate position for contact by a bowling ball when the gutter is fully raised.
Another early device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,628,103 wherein a longitudinal bumper is affixed into the gutter of a shuffle-board game alley for a tabletop shuffleboard game. This bumper assembly, however, is relatively fixed in construction, requiring the assembly and disassembly of multiple turnbuckles to install and remove. Therefore the device can not easily be installed or removed in comparison with the raising and lowering of the gutter above described.
Another device, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,012 causes portions of the bowling alley lane to be raised from below to form a guide trough for the ball just after it is thrown. The guide trough is for helping beginners to learn to properly throw the ball without damaging the alley lane or constantly throwing gutter balls.
A previous patent to the applicant, U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,122 discloses pneumatic plastic tubes that are placed in the gutters and inflated quickly to form cushions or bumpers. The cushions are likewise quickly deflated and rolled up to effect removal. These cushions have proven very successful in the market place, however, with frequent use, the plastic tubes eventually develop pin hole airleaks which are difficult to locate for repair. In addition, some bulky auxiliary equipment is required including an aircompressor cart with means for storing deflated cushions thereon.
A second patent to the applicant, U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,155, discloses in addition to the above, elastic bands stretched longitudinally adjacent the lane and thereabove to form a bumper preventing the ball from entering the gutter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,024 discloses a mechanical bumper that is attached atop the median between the gutters of adjacent alleys. The bumper is extendable and retractable horizontally above the gutter to guard the gutter and expose the gutter respectively. The bumper may be deployed manually or by a motor gear drive assembly at one end of the bumper assembly. The bumper assembly including most mechanical parts is completely exposed above the gutter.
The inflatable cushion described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,122 above is the device that has had the most effect in popularizing the concept of utilizing deflection devices in bowling alleys. More than half of the approximately 8000 bowling centers in the United States are now utilizing some form of deflection device for keeping balls out of the gutter.
The newer bumper noted above in U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,024 overcomes some of the disadvantages of the inflatable cushion and is more quickly deployed and retracted. Therefore, this bumper has gained some favor in the market. However, this bumper mechanism is quite expensive to purchase and install, requiring the tearing up of the structure between the gutters of adjacent lanes and reconstruction with the mechanism to actuate the bumper. In addition to the installation expense, many bowlers consider the exposed mechanism to be overly obtrusive and visually displeasing.
With a view toward overcoming the less desirable aspects of the above bumper systems, applicant has developed the new bumper assembly disclosed below.